Diamond News Archives

(IDEX Online) - The State Bank of India (SBI) is to start lending to manufacturers of lab grown diamonds.

The move, by the country's largest private lender, is widely seen as boost to an emerging sector. India produces 15 per cent of the world's lab growns, but has been calling on the government to invest and help it grow into $5.1bn-a-year industry.

The government-owned SBI has formalized a policy to provide loans, primarily for the import of machinery rather than as working capital.

Lenders have been particularly wary of lab growns diamonds manufacturers, and have been unwilling to lend. But other banks are now more likely to follow SBI's lead.

Economic Times quotes a senior industry source as saying: "The man-made diamond lobby is becoming stronger by the day. Though volumes are still a fraction of natural diamonds, SBI probably thinks it is an emerging business."
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(IDEX Online) - Sarine reported a 13 per cent drop in first-half earnings, under "challenging conditions", notably the ongoing war in Ukraine and resulting sanctions on Russia.

The diamond tech company said group revenue had declined from $36.0m in H1 2021 to $31.2m. 

"Geopolitical developments, primarily the war in Ukraine and an increasingly inflationary economic environment, along with ongoing outbreaks of Covid-19 in China and the corresponding lockdowns.

imposed on some major cities, had an overall negative effect on business conditions, primarily in the second half of H1 2022," the Israel-based company said. 

"Notwithstanding the challenging business environment, the group realised robust results."

It said sales of capital equipment fell by around 30 per cent, largely due to the geopolitical uncertainties.

But recurrent revenue from both rough and polished diamonds expanded, comprising over half of overall earnings....